What is policy?



“A course or method of action selected among alternatives that guides present and future decisions”














“A decision coupled with the authority to act on it”

What is policy?






Policy actions can include: legislation, regulation, coordination, motivation.



Ultimately, policies can provide incentives to align the interests of biodiversity and human societies

What is policy?






Incentive: something that motivates or encourages particular behavior



Perverse incentive: unintended or undesirable results contrary to initial motivation

Classic examples of perverse incentives:



French colonial government in Honoi paying locals to exterminate rats → led to the farming of rats and increased rat problem









Carbon credits grant nations the right to emit gases that contribute to global warming. Developed nations are able to earn carbon credits by investing in emissions-reduction projects → For greenhouse gases trifluoromethane and sulfur hexafluoride, the value of the credits obtained can exceed the cost of destroying these gases in the production process, creating a ‘perverse’ incentive to increase production so that credits can be claimed.

What is policy?



Let’s examine a couple of examples of policy to protect biodiversity and their incentive structures

Endangered Species Act



One of the most important pieces of legislation on biodiversity in the US


The Endangered Species Act (1973): “The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend”

Endangered Species Act



One of the most important pieces of legislation on biodiversity in the US


There are > 2,200 species listed as endangered or threatened in the US


In total there have been 94 species de-listed
62 due to recovery
11 due to extinction
21 due to “original data in error”

Endangered Species Act



One of the most important pieces of legislation on biodiversity in the US


The ESA also interfaces with the 175-nation agreement to prevent species extinctions due to international trade


CITES:
C.onvention on I.nternational T.rade
in E.ndangered S.pecies
of Wild Fauna and Flora

Endangered Species Act is powerful but complicated



What incentive structure does the ESA establish?

What are some perverse incentives that the ESA might unintentionally establish?

Endangered Species Act is powerful but complicated



What incentive structure does the ESA establish?

What are some perverse incentives that the ESA might unintentionally establish?

  • Pre-emptive habitat destruction (to prevent endangered species from establishing, e.g., harvesting trees early so they don’t become old enough to become suitable habitat)


  • Direct removal of endangered species (to prevent government from imposing restrictions on the land, e.g., “shoot, shovel and shut up”)


  • Increased harvest of endangered species to make money off their rarity


  • Focus on individual species instead of ecosystem

Beyond the Endangered Species Act



There are perverse incentives structure implicit in much of our economic system


In the extreme… perverse business ideas like:












Even in less extreme examples, there is a perverse incentive simply because we do not pay for the actual value of the ecosystem services we use.

Motivation




Externality: A consequence (positive or negative) of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved.




Often discussed in financial terms, but also deep humanitarian and environmental justice concerns

Motivation




Externality: A consequence (positive or negative) of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved.





Examples: Fossil fuel production, mining, water use, chemical contamination, etc.

Motivation




Externality: A consequence (positive or negative) of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved.

Motivation




So, how can we motivate individuals, collectives, and policy makers to make more sustainable choices?

Motivation



Example, Wyoming ranchers get a monetary incentive for planning adjacent conservation easements













Example, Wyoming ranchers get a monetary incentive for planning adjacent conservation easements











Motivation



Another example: conservationists, scientists, rice farmers, and the public joining together to protect migratory shorebirds

Bigger picture change



Many of the examples we have discussed so far assume a political-social-economic system that is similar to what we have today.


But what if we (as individuals and societies) shifted some of the underlying assumptions?


What might be possible then?

Bigger picture change: Financial wealth


Bigger picture change: Financial wealth, wealth inequity


Financial wealth, wealth inequity, and impacts


Bigger picture change


Systemic commitment to ecological health…carbon neutrality

Bigger picture change


Systemic commitment to ecological health… reconciliation ecology














Designing new habitats for other species in the midst of where people live and work in the age of the Anthropocene

Bigger picture change


Systemic commitment to ecological health… alternate measures of prosperity


1972 king of Bhutan: “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product”


GNP instituted as the goal in the Constitution of Bhutan in 2008

Closing: Environmental worldviews



What if it’s not your job to save the world?














We live inside of – and become - the stories we tell ourselves

Lets’ avoid tired stories



The environment is there to use for human gain; Growth is good; We can fix problems primarily with technology














New and creative responses are needed to promote a Life-Sustaining Society; action must come from a deeper cultural shift; we are not separate or separable from each other, other life forms, and the Earth